asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program
established 2012
established 2012
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  Cristina McKnight ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Cristina McKnight ran to a 49th place finish with a new personal best of 2:40:29 over an undulating course in the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon on Saturday afternoon. Running in only her second marathon, after debuting in December 2019 at Sacramento's California International Marathon, McKnight passed the halfway mark (13.1 miles) in 1:18:18 before slowing to a positive second-half split of 1:22:11. Her finishing time was 12 seconds faster than her initial marathon. Her 49th place bested her pre-race seed of 128th by a huge margin. There were 390 women finishers of the 510 qualifiers (2:45:00 or better) of which 444 started. Her teammate, Joe Niemiec had a tough day as he struggled to a time of 2:27:50, which was well off his qualifying time of 2:17:23 at last month's Chevron Houston Marathon. He finished 123rd of the 226 starters and 175 finishers and bested his seeding of 126. "This was not a PR day. This was not a good day. This was honestly a bad day on paper. But I am so proud I finished. I defeated my body on a day it didn’t want to perform," Joe explained following the race.  Joe Niemiec He elaborated, "Today was a grind...hills, wind, and a body that fought back every time I tried to push...by mile 7 I had my first cramp...I kept driving and took my shot over the next 7 miles coming through half on sub 2:20 pace...but around 15 my body was toasted...everything that worked for Houston seemed to have no affect in ATL...like a bacteria that becomes resistant to antibiotics my mind and body were immune to all the tricks I used in Houston...the next 3 miles I cried and yelled and fought through core cramps that throttled me back to 6 flat pace...I wanted so badly to drop out...but I passed my cheer squad and my wife pointed to her heart and reminded me to run from the heart...this was the lowest point of the race...after seeing that I switched my mindset to survive and finish...I came too far not to run down that damed finish chute...towards mile 20-22 I actually started building momentum again but as soon as I approached 5:30 my core would get so cramped it almost brought me to a walk...and so it went till the last 800 meters where I decided I would kick till the end...at that point I was in 126th. My bib number. I was able to pass three guys in the last stretch which brought me to 123."
ASICS GTC-ELITE director Mike Caldwell summed up the day, "Our program goal is always qualifying and competing in national championship and the Olympic Trials. Today, we had two of our marathon rookies compete after qualifying in either December of 2019 or last month (January). To be able to recover from those qualifying efforts and show up here in Atlanta on a fairly difficult course due to the undulating hills and then battle some very gusty winds is definitely a victory for our athletes and program." GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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 February 29, 2020 - Atlanta, GAASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Joe Niemiec and Cristina McKnight will toe the starting line on February 29th in downtown Atlanta, GA for the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon. Both meet the qualifying standards for one of the most prestigious events in US running after relocating to Greenville to join the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The current weather forecast is sunny and cool with a high of 46-degrees. Starting times: men at 12:08 and women at 12:20 pm.  Cristina McKnight during California International Marathon. McKnight, who did not compete at the collegiate level while studying at Michigan State University, was accepted to the program with a personal best of only 1:18:41 for the half marathon (not quite meeting the program's qualifying standard of 1:18:00). She has since improved to 1:16:04. After she and her coach Laura Caldwell mutually set a goal of running her first marathon under the qualifying standard of 2:45:00, they targeted the California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA. In early December, 2019, Cristina debuted at the marathon distance with a time of 2:40:41, and placed 11th among women. That qualified her for the Atlanta event, where she is seeded 128th among the 513 women qualifiers and 463 actual "declared" entrants. In 2018 Niemiec contacted the ASICS GTC-ELITE coaches about the possibility of "qualifying for the Trials." After visiting Greenville and interviewing with the coaches and athletes, Joe decided to relocate from Michigan to chase his dream. With abundant support from his wife, Jasmine, they moved with their two young children south. (They welcomed their third child a little over a year ago.) Although he had some success at the USA 25K Championships, Joe had not run an actual marathon. He picked the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon to be his first. After running at a Trials qualifying pace for 25K, he slowed considerably over the last 10K and finished in 2:26:46--well off the 2:19:00 needed to qualify for the Trials. Joe and his coaches then decided to run the Chevron Houston Marathon in mid-January, which would be the final opportunity to qualify. The revised plan was to fully recover from Chicago first and then use a shorter build-up for Houston. Joe was able to increase his fitness due to some increased-volume workout sessions and a few marathon-specific long runs. On January 19th, Joe achieved his dream as he ran 2:17:23 in Houston, placing ninth overall and being the second American finisher. He is seeded 126th for the Atlanta Trials in a field of 242 "declared" entrants of the 265 qualifiers.  Joe Niemiec finishing 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon. (photo by Jack Thompson/Runner's World) Highlighting Atlanta's Olympic history and legacy, the course for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon will take athletes on a tour of some of Atlanta's most important attractions and neighborhoods. Competitors will begin their race in front of Centennial Olympic Park – the crown jewel of the 1996 Atlanta Games – and head down Marietta Street toward Peachtree. They will proceed three miles north on Peachtree until they pass the intersection of Peachtree and West Peachtree, then turn around and head back down Peachtree in the opposite direction, loop through Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and return to downtown. The runners will complete this loop three times before heading on a 2.2 mile final loop that runs under the Rings and Torch structure from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, goes by the Georgia Capitol building and passes by the sports stadiums that house the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta United FC. They will then reach the welcome sight of the finish line inside Centennial Olympic Park.  GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 Eddie Garcia (78) taking the early lead. On a sunny, but cold, Saturday morning ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 1:05:25 over a hilly course to win the Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Half Marathon in Columbia, SC. He returned to the state's Capitol city after winning the MCG Long Run 15K three weeks ago to post a similar winning result. The Atlanta Track Club's Robert Stone was second in 1:08:00. Garcia's pace was a quick 5:00 per mile and earned him a nice payday. The overall winner's award was $1250 with additional $300 bonus for first American and $300 for first South Carolinian. He also earned the 2020 Road Runners Club of America South Carolina State Half Marathon championship. It was a personal best by 12 seconds for the former Southeastern Conference 10,000-meter champion while a student at the University of Florida. Eddie is currently ranked first in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings. The time also eclipsed the South Carolina State Record for the Half Marathon (by a SC resident), which was held by Charleston's Michael Banks at 1:05:50 in the 2014 Governor's Cup.  photo: JEDIrunnerphotography GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels ran 4:54 to win the Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Main Street Mile in downtown Columbia, SC on a cold and windy Friday evening. She earned $500 for her efforts. Rodenfels' current, and former collegiate, teammate Victor Pataky placed second in the men's division with a time of 4:26. He finished two seconds behind the Atlanta Track Club's James Dwyer (4:24) and earned $400. Both Rodenfels and Pataky are graduates of Kentucky's Centre College. The race had previously been held in the month of May, but was moved to February in conjunction with Saturday's Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Road Races (Half Marathon and 5K). The temperature after sundown dropped to under 40 degrees with gusting winds.  Rodenfels winning Main Street Mile photo: JEDIrunnerphotography GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels are the new leaders in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings announced today. Garcia won the MCG Long Run 15K in Columbia, SC last Saturday after placing third in The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K in January. Those were his first races since placing 12th at the Pan American Games Marathon with a time of 2:19:12 last July in Lima Peru. In the Columbia race, Eddie finished 27 seconds ahead of Rock Hill's Jonathan McGinnis, who is second in the current rankings. Rodenfels won the women's title at The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K with a time of 16:44, where she bested the former rankings leader Alyssa Bloomquist. Bloomquist ran a personal best of 16:54 in that event and is now ranked second in the standings. Rodenfel's teammate, Cristina McKnight, is ranked third following her SC State 15K record (52:47) at the MCG Long Run. Bloomquist, McKnight, Joy Miller (4th in rankings) and Esther Atkins (5th) are all qualifiers for this month's USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA, which illustrates the current talent level. Garcia's teammates, Joe Niemiec (7th) and Victor Pataky (9th) are also among the top ten men. Garcia, Niemiec, James Quattlebaum (3rd), Cole Atkins (6th) are also 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifiers.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 All smiles for Cristina McKnight and Eddie Garcia ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eduardo Garcia and Cristina McKnight both were victorious at the MCG Long Run 15K on a cold Saturday morning in Columbia, SC. Garcia broke away from Harrison Kirigwi just before the 6-mile mark, after running the fifth mile in 4:34. His finishing time of 46:32 (4:59/mile average) was 27 seconds clear of runner-up Jonathan McGinnis (46:58). Kirigwi was third in 47:07.
McKnight's time of 52:47 broke the South Carolina State record for 15K. The previous record of 53:50 was set way back in 1988 by Megan Othersen. McKnight's time is also a record for the ASICS GTC-ELITE program, besting Dyan Hassett's 53:07 from 2015. Her record-setting effort earned her a $200 bonus in addition to the $500 winner's purse. Joy Miller, a qualifier for the upcoming USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon, as is McKnight, placed second in 53:58. Garcia's time was also a program record, besting Ryan Root's 47:30 from 2017, and also earning Eddie $500 for his win. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF. |
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